Foster was a Democratic member of the U.S. House representing the 14th district of Illinois, but was unseated in the 2010 election. He is one of nine individuals elected to U.S. House in 2012 who have prior congressional experience, and one of five House Democrats ousted in 2010 who came back to unseat freshman Republican members two years later.[1][2]

He is set to run for re-election to the U.S. House in 2014. If he runs, he will seek the Democratic nomination in the primary election. The general election took place November 4, 2014.

Based on analysis of multiple outside rankings, Foster is an average Democratic member of Congress, meaning he will vote with the Democratic Party on the majority of bills.

Career

Below is an abbreviated outline of Foster's academic, professional and political career[3]

U.S. House

2013-2014

Issues

Legislative actions

113th Congress

The second session of the 113th Congress enacted into law 114 out of the 3,036 introduced bills (3.8 percent). Comparatively, the 112th Congress had 4.2 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the second session.[5] For more information pertaining to Foster's voting record in the 113th Congress, please see the below sections.[6]

National security

Department of Homeland Security Appropriations

Foster voted against HR 2217 - the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2014. The bill passed the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 245 - 182 and was largely along party lines.[7]

Keystone Pipeline Amendment

Foster voted against House Amendment 69, which would have amended HR 3 to "require that the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security, conduct a study of the vulnerabilities of the Keystone XL pipeline to a terrorist attack and certify that necessary protections have been put in place." The amendment failed on May 22, 2013, with a vote of 176 - 239 and was largely along party lines.[7]

Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act

Foster voted in favor of HR 624 - the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act. The bill passed the House on April 18, 2013, with a vote of 288 - 127. The bill would allow federal intelligence agencies to share cybersecurity intelligence and information with private entities and utilities.[8] The bill was largely supported by Republicans but divided the Democratic Party.[7]

National Defense Authorization Act

Foster voted in support of HR 1960 - the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014. The bill passed the House on June 14, 2013, with a vote of 315 - 108. Both parties were somewhat divided on the vote.[7]

Economy

Government shutdown

Foster said in a statement on October 1, 2013, that “Until Congress ends this irresponsible shutdown, I will donate my pay to charity.”[9]

Closing of congressional gym

Foster and Patrick Murphy (D-FL) want the congressional gym closed until the shutdown impasse is over, and circulated a letter that would ask House SpeakerJohn Boehner to deem the House spa non-essential for the duration of the shutdown.[10]

“Members of Congress should not enjoy access to their exclusive gym and spa while Capitol police go without pay, children are being turned away from Head Start and veterans are left wondering if their benefits will come in the mail on November 1st,” said Foster in a statement.[10]

“Despite Speaker Boehner’s refusal to reopen the government by bringing a clean CR to the House floor, he believes members of Congress should still receive congressional perks,” the two Democrats wrote to colleagues on October 9, 2013. “He has deemed the congressional spa used by Members of the House of Representatives to be ‘essential’ during the shutdown...Not only are members still able to access the taxpayer-funded gym, sauna and steam room while tens of thousands of federal employees remain furloughed, janitorial staff are still required to clean the gym and restock it with towels and other ‘essential items,’” Murphy and Foster said in the letter.[10]

The two members have to introduce the Shutdown Prioritization Act, or the SPA Act, that would prohibit the Architect of the Capitol from keeping the congressional gym open.[10]

Eva Malecki, a communications officer for the Architect of the Capitol, said: “When Members join the gym they are given key fobs that permit them to access the facility. The decision not to lock Members out was made because they keep personal items there, but Members have been made aware that the facility will be unstaffed until the government reopens, as its employees are paid with appropriated funds, which are unavailable during the shutdown.”[10]

Many members sleep in their offices when Congress is in session and use the House gym to shower rather than obtaining a Washington D.C. apartment.[10]

Immigration

Morton Memos Enforcement Prohibition

Foster voted against House Amendment 136 - Prohibits the Enforcement of the Immigration Executive Order. The amendment was adopted by the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 224 - 201. The purpose of the amendment as stated on the official text is to "prohibit the use of funds to finalize, implement, administer, or enforce the Morton Memos." These memos would have granted administrative amnesty to certain illegal aliens residing in the United States. The vote largely followed party lines.[7]

Healthcare

Health Care Reform Rules

Foster voted against House Amendment 450 - Requires Congressional Approval for Any Rules Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The amendment was adopted by the House on August 2, 2013, with a vote of 227-185. The amendment requires all changes to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act be approved by Congress before taking effect. The vote was largely along party lines.[7]

Keep the IRS Off Your Health Care Act

Foster voted against HR 2009 - Keep the IRS Off Your Health Care Act of 2013. The bill passed through the House on August 2, 2013, with a vote of 232-185. The bill would prevent the IRS and Treasury Secretary from enforcing the powers provided to them in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The vote largely followed party lines.[7]

Social issues

Amash amendment

Foster voted against House Amendment 413 - Prohibits the National Security Agency from Collecting Records Under the Patriot Act. The amendment failed on July 4, 2013, by a vote of 205-217. The amendment would have prohibited the collection of records by the National Security Agency under the Patriot Act. Both parties were split on the vote.[7]

Previous congressional sessions

Specific votes

Rep. Foster voted for TARP.[11] According to a Gallup poll from September 13, 2010, 61% of Americans disapprove of TARP, while 37% approve.[12]

Foster also supported the auto bailout.[13] As of September 13, 2010: 56% of Americans disapproved
of the auto bailout, while 43% supported it.[14]

In addition, Rep. Foster voted for the stimulus bill.[15] 57% of U.S. voters believe that the stimulus has either hurt the economy (36%) or had no impact (21%). 38% believe the stimulus helped the economy. [16]

Foster also voted in favor of the "Cash for Clunkers" bill.[17] According to a June 2009 Rasmussen Reports poll, 54% of likely U.S. voters opposed Cash for Clunkers, while 35% supported it.[18]

Finally, Foster voted in favor of the health care reform bill.[19] 57% of likely voters at least somewhat favor repeal of the health care reform bill, including 46% who strongly favor repeal. 35% of likely voters oppose repeal. 51% of likely voters believe the health care reform bill will be bad for the country, while 36% believe it will be beneficial.[20]

Debate

In a debate held against Judy Biggert on Saturday October 13 2012, candidates went back and forth on careers, voting histories and choices made in office. While both sides made accusations that the other did not support the district in certain ways or made bad choices, both agreed on certain areas which need continued help. Budget concerns and Medicare were the main topics of debate between the two candidates.[25]

Full history

To view the full congressional electoral history for Bill Foster, click [show] to expand the section.

2010

On November 2, 2010, Randy Hultgren won election to the United States House. He defeated Bill Foster (D), Daniel J. Kairis (G) and Doug Marks (I) in the general election.[26]

U.S. House, Illinois District 14 General Election, 2010

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Republican

Randy Hultgren

51.3%

112,369

Democratic

Bill Foster incumbent

45%

98,645

Green

Daniel J. Kairis

3.6%

7,949

Independent

Doug Marks

0%

50

Total Votes

219,013

2008

On November 4, 2008, Bill Foster won election to the United States House. He defeated Jim Oberweis in the general election.[27]

U.S. House, Illinois District 14 General Election, 2008

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Bill Foster

57.7%

185,404

Republican

Jim Oberweis

42.3%

135,653

Total Votes

321,057

Polls

Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Foster is available dating back to 2008. Based on available campaign finance records, Foster raised a total of $12,182,689 during that time period. This information was last updated on April 5, 2013.[28]

2012

Breakdown of the source of Foster's campaign funds before the 2012 election.

Foster won election to the U.S. House in 2012. During that election cycle, Foster's campaign committee raised a total of $3,460,892 and spent $3,532,806.[33] This is more than the average $1.5 million spent by House winners in 2012.[34]

As of July 10, 2012 Foster raised $475,000 in the second quarter, and had $1.3 million in cash-on-hand.[35]

On October 15, 2012, quarterly reports were submitted by campaigns to the Federal Election Commission. The political blog Daily Kos did an analysis of the fundraising figures and found Democratic challenger Bill Foster outraised Republican incumbent Judy Biggert in the third quarter. Foster raised $642,000 to Biggert's $624,000.[36]

Lifetime missed votes

According to the website GovTrack, Foster missed 17 of 2,319 roll call votes from Mar 2008 to Mar 2013. This amounts to 0.7%, which is better than the median of 2.2% among current congressional representatives as of March 2013.[39]

Net worth

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Foster's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $6,766,022 and $29,016,000. That averages to $17,891,011, which is higher than the average net worth of Democratic representatives in 2011 of $5,107,874. His average net worth decreased by 1.68% from 2010.[40]

Voting with party

2013

Bill Foster voted with the Democratic Party 89.1% of the time, which ranked 174th among the 201 House Democratic members as of June 2013.[41]

Personal

Foster lives in Naperville, Illinois with his wife Aesook, who is also a physicist. Foster has two grown children, Billy and Christine. [42]

Recent news

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